


Unmasked

by AbstractionDesolation



Category: Star Wars The Force Awakens, kylux - Fandom
Genre: Blood, Hux thinks Ren is hot, No Smut, Other, Suicide Attempt, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-21
Updated: 2017-04-21
Packaged: 2018-10-22 01:24:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10686894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbstractionDesolation/pseuds/AbstractionDesolation
Summary: I don't know what to call this. It's a one-shot as far as I can determine so far (the boys aren't cooperating) and it goes nowhere. Mention of suicide attempt that is fairly graphic. No sex but heavily implied attraction. For graphic content read my other Kylux piece. Tag suggestions welcome.





	Unmasked

The door rose before him and he began to speak before he finished crossing the threshold. This time Kylo would know just how angry his temper tantrum had made Hux. There was only so much he was willing to put up with, to overlook, when it came to Snoke's pet Force-user. Hux had to start in on his speech right away, or risk being side tracked. Keeping his gaze downcast, he was pleased his voice was strong and clear, betraying nothing of the worry he felt. He half expected to be assaulted on entering the private quarters, uninvited, of such a volatile man and it rattled his usual icy calm. 

He was halfway through the outer sitting area, when he finally looked up. The words froze on his lips as he was addressing a dimly lit, empty room. Hux craved order, needed cleanliness, and this room was neither neat nor orderly. Black robes were on the floor, shoes haphazardly in the middle of the room. A broken training bag lay discarded in the corner, burned slashes indicating another Kylo Ren meltdown. Hux sighed inwardly, knowing he'd have to steel himself again for the confrontation he meant to have. It didn't help to see the evidence that there was a possibly post-workout, not-in-his-typical-clothing Kylo Ren somewhere nearby. With a shake of his head Hux dismissed his train of thought. He was here to be angry at Kylo, not trying to sneak a peek at the mystery man. 

He raised his voice. "Ren? It's General Hux. I need to speak to you about your transgression this afternoon." He knew it was a bad idea, but he started across the room anyway, back towards the even more private sleeping area. All of the rooms on this base were roughly the same, though people with rank had the benefit of the social area as well as their bedrooms. There would be a private washroom as well, Hux knew, and he told himself he was not mildly intrigued by the idea of finding Ren in the cleansing unit. 

Before he knew it he was at the door. The chip in his ID triggered the automatic opener that Ren had apparently not bothered to alter. He tried to launch into his diatribe again, but it was oddly quiet and even more poorly illuminated in this room. Glancing around, it took him a moment to register what was in front of him. He groaned in frustration, anger, and a little fear at the sight. 

"Oh, for FUCK'S sake Kylo Ren!" The tall man was lying on his stomach at an angle across his mattress, head turned toward the door, forearms dangling over the edge of the bed. His torso was naked, legs clad in his usual black pants, feet bare. His dark hair was flung out behind him like a banner and his skin glinted pale and shiny with sweat in the low light. What had Hux in shock was the slowly widening, dark puddle beneath the trailing limbs. "You idiot!" Ren didn't move as Hux came closer. He reached for the long arms, lifting and turning until he could see the deep gashes that decorated both wrists. The blood was still flowing strongly, pulsing with each heartbeat. The wounds were fresh, then. 

He dashed into the washroom, head turning in controlled panic as he looked for something to staunch the wounds. A whisper in his head, a low rumbled voice he never recalled hearing before, and he knew where to go. Moments later and he was dragging Ren's limp form to the floor, using the towels he'd found to tie tight pressure to each wrist. He barked a command, the embedded voice link in the walls recognizing his stated ID and overriding any blocks or alterations that may have been in effect. 

The towels were turning red, Ren's breathing ragged, before the medical mech arrived. A small scanner emerged, taking in the scene and isolating the area of concern. With a whirr the machine glided across the floor and began its work. Minutes that felt like hours went by as the mech analyzed, administered healing gel and a restorative blood product, and then taped gauze over the newly closed wounds. All the time Ren lay motionless, limp, in Hux's lap. 

Hux had never seen the face under the helmet before. He'd heard the rumors; that Kylo Ren, the scourge of the masses, was horribly burned or otherwise massively disfigured. He'd heard the gossip that the mask was much like the legendary Darth Vader's and kept Ren alive. Hundreds of rumors, all of them painting a picture of a monster beneath the mask. But the truth... The truth had Hux in awe. Ren was pallid, face slack, hair limp and plastered to his sweaty forehead. But the lines of his jaw were handsome, his features strong, lips full. Long dark eyelashes swept high sharp cheekbones. The naked chest was smooth, muscled, dotted with freckles, and tapering into the sweeping v of his hipbones before the black cloth of his pants began. 

The little mech chirped, a display screen activating and tearing Hux's gaze from the man in his lap. -Subject: Ren, Kylo. Diagnosis: Significant blood loss secondary to bilateral lacerations of major distal upper extremity pulse points. Treatment: Steri-wash, Medigel, simu-heme, bandage. Recommendation: Med bay for infusion, monitoring of vital signs, psychiatric evaluation. Report initiated by: Hux, Brendol. Do you wish to summon Med Bay Transportation? Hux sighed. He should have known there'd be a record. He didn't want anyone to know about this. Ren wouldn't want anyone to know of what had happened, and Hux didn't want to add to the rumors. Something like this would burn like wildfire and ruin Ren's reputation. And that reputation was important not only to Kylo, but to Snoke and the rest of the Republic as well. 

"Over ride command code BH1984. Delete record." 

"Over ride code accepted, General. Do you wish to delete this encounter?" 

Hux gave the affirmative and the droid trundled away, leaving the two men in the darkened room in a puddle of congealing blood. With more effort than he expected to need Hux stood and picked Kylo up. The thought of throwing the unconscious man over his shoulder made him grimace, but he couldn't figure out how to fold in the long limbs to carry him any other way. Teeth gritted, he settled for a modified carry across his shoulders, and took Ren to the wash room. He settled Ren in the corner of the cleansing unit before looking with dismay at himself. His trousers were sticky and bloody streaks traced down his arms, trailing over his chest, his back. He'd sat directly in the puddle in his haste to get help. With a sigh he stripped off his clothes, setting them aside. He'd worry about it later and he walked back to the stall in just his undershorts. 

He didn't have to worry about the bandages getting wet; the medical technology was sound. He turned on the spray, keeping it on the warm side but not hot. Ren didn't stir as Hux washed the blood from his body. It wouldn't have been too bad, but Hux had inadvertently dropped Kylo into the mess on the floor. He didn't move when Hux slid the wet cloth of the pants down his legs, leaving him nude. Hux did his best to not look as more of the pale, lithe body was revealed. It was more than a little lecherous, half dead as Ren was. With another head shake he changed tracks. It was honestly worrying that Ren not woken yet. The mech had recommended transfusion, but surely if death was imminent it would have said so, right? His thoughts raced as he washed the blood from Ren's hair, feeling the thickness of the shockingly dark locks. 

Why? What was Ren doing? Why would anyone with such strength, such favor with Snoke, such a reputation, do something like this? Why would someone who was so... Hux sighed. So handsome, remarkable, intimidating do something so drastic? The cuts were obviously self inflicted. They weren't saber marks. They were done deliberately with a real blade. Hux was pretty certain he'd find a knife somewhere if he were to look.

~because... Because ...he... Is alone.~

Hux froze. The voice was dark, low. The same voice that had told him where the towels were. He looked around, but no one was in the room but them. He turned the unit off, activating the dryers. When Ren's hair was dry and color returned to his cheeks Hux picked him up again. The bed was close, and there was still a mess on the floor. It didn't matter. Hux laid Ren on the bed, finger combing the now softly curling locks. His own hair was dry, red and shaggy, free from its gelled prison. He hated his hair, hated having to tame it every day to keep it from becoming a riotous mass. 

The scoff caught him by surprise. ~Perfect General Hux. So cold he could be stranded on Hoth without shelter and not freeze. And he's worried about his hair.~ Hux searched the semi-darkness. "Who said that?" 

A cruel laugh cut through his brain and he grimaced. ~come now general, you must know by now what they think of you? Your hair doesn't matter to anyone, just your cruel leadership.~ 

"Get. Out. Of. My. Head." Each word was clipped, heavy with a trembling anger. Who else would be here, in this room? ~ah, but general, you're so ... Interesting... To read...~ 

Hux tucked kylo under the sheets, all the while looking for the source of the voice. The room was empty. He went back to the bathroom and ran cold water over his clothes until the water stopped running pink. It wasn't perfect, but the shocking red was much diminished. When his clothes were dry it would be barely noticeable. His pants had protected his undershorts, so he was clean. Now he had to wait for his garments to dry and he'd be out of there. He knew air drying was the only way - the drying unit that he had used on Kylo would make the material shrink. 

Arms straight, he gripped the edges of the counter and hung his head before the mirror. What the hell was going on? Disembodied voices, the mystery man unmasked and unconscious a room away, and Hux mostly nude and confused. ~general. You flatter yourself.~ Hux shook his head. He was tired and wanted to sleep before his shift began again. He'd intended to give Ren a piece of his mind and return to his own room. "Not play nurse to a suicidal mad man." 

~mad man... You know nothing of madness.~ 

"I know that man has more power and favor than anyone in the republic. I know I walked in on an attempt to take his own life. The two combined equals madness."

~says the man naked in another man's washroom, the man who had to fight the urge to taste the blood before he washed it away, the man who ~ 

"Enough!" He had had the urge to taste Ren's blood. He had several urges and thoughts about the man before brushing them away in the face of the situation. Private thoughts. "I'm not naked any way."

The low chuckle in his head curled down in his belly and he hissed in a quick breath. ~you don't deny the desires, just the nudity. You are a strange man general.~

"look, whoever you are, get out of my head. As soon as my things are dry I'll leave and this will all be forgotten, okay?" The vein of steel that he used to keep control of the troops was back in his voice. But he was tired. So tired. How he'd forget this night, he didn't know... But if he could get out before Ren awoke the other would never know and it would be his secret alone. 

With a sigh he strode back to the bed. Quietly he summoned a cleaning mech, instructing it to clean the spilled innards of the heavy bag in the outer area as well as to clean the floor. Fortunately cleaning droids were stupid and made no reports. Even if they did, it would be assumed after the first mess that the second was a normal Ren Hissy Fit byproduct. 

~why do you care if reports are made?~ a bitter edge lined the voice. 

"Because it would ruin him." 

~so what? You job as general and future with the empire would be secure, not to mention brighter, were ... He ... Out of the way.~ the odd hesitation made Hux pause, but he ignored it, thinking on the truth of the words. 

"True. But he doesn't deserve to go out like that." He made a half hearted wave towards the still not awake Ren. 

~and what *does* he deserve?" Hux's heart clenched at the pain and bite in those words. 

"It's not for me to determine. But not this. Not an ignominious death from a moment of weakness." The voice fell silent. Hux settled himself on the floor, back to the wall, to wait for his clothes. He was close enough to the bed to see the rise and fall each breath made in Ren's chest. Ren finally turned, rolling to his side and curling into the sheet. It was a good sign. 

Hux didn't know how long he sat on the floor in the room of the most feared Force user in the known systems. He jolted awake by a sudden pain in his shin. When he opened his eyes, scrambling to remember where he was, he saw Kylo Ren looming over him, ready to kick him again. The tall man's eyes glittered with anger as he clutched his sheet around his body and jerked his head towards the washroom where Hux's clothing was undoubtedly dry. Hux rose quickly, keeping his gaze firmly on Ren's. He scrambled for the door, dressed in record time, and slid back into the bedroom. Ren was still standing next to the bed, but facing away from Hux. 

Clearing his throat, Hux edged through the room. "I came to tell you that you will no longer be permitted to carry that glow stick of yours in the command area if you continue to use it to destroy equipment. We cannot keep replacing things just because you throw a temper tantrum. Your anger serves Snoke well, but for the rest of us it is merely a nuisance." Speech finally given, he left the room. 

As the door closed behind him he heard a deep, familiar voice, this time aloud instead of in his head. "You truly are a strange man, general."


End file.
